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Leaving south reno 395 is a 4 lane road w/ a 2-3 foot shoulder but traffic is usually very light now that a new freeway between reno and carson city carries the majority of the cars.

Between carson city and minden it's a 4 lane divided highway with an 8 foot shoulder but lots of traffic. An alternate would be to take Jacks valley road to Genoa then east on Genoa lane back to 395 (or continue farther south, jacks valley rd becomes foothill rd south of genoa, to muller lane and east into to Minden.

South of the Minden/Gardnerville area to Lee vining 395 is mostly 2 lane, some 4 lane, with little traffic except maybe on the weekends with tourists traveling to/from southern California.

P.S. I live in the Carson City area so I'm pretty familiar with riding the roads in this area (just in case you were wondering if I knew what the hell I was talking about ).

The eastern Sierra is a beautiful place to ride. you should have a great time.

What Gnarlydog said. I've ridden the East Side (395) quite a bit. One tight section to be wary of is just south of Topaz right around the CA/NV border. No shoulder, tight curves, not a lot of fun, although there has been some road work in recent years, so the situation may have improved. Current situation, Gnarlydog?

One workaround involves some tough cycling but also some of the best riding anywhere: From the Minden area, go into the Sierras a bit and over to Markleeville then over and down Monitor Pass (that's the tough bit!). It's super, super beautiful, and there's a fantastic campground just outside of town, which has a little market and a couple of restaurants. Be warned, Monitor Pass is tough, but soooo beautiful. Once you drop down to 395 you're past the narrows and the shoulder generally improves, although you will face a couple of narrow spots along the Walker River, as well.

Hi, Scooper: Heading up the west side of the Sierras is much more complicated and, generally, considerably more traffic clogged. California has as many people as the entire country of Canada, and I swear that on a weekend especially, they all seem to be out in their cars in the "Gold Country," which is the western slope you'd have to traverse to get to the Tahoe area/Western Express, which has its own problems. Hwy 49 is the main west side road and, because of that traffic load, pretty nasty at times. There are other back country roads, but I'm unfamiliar with them. These would offer some brutally difficult riding, however, and some sections might be dirt. Others on this board will likely know the country better than me. On the Western Express, I was really unhappy with the Placerville to Fulsom section. If you end up heading up the west side, at Plymouth, head up into the mountains towards Fiddletown Rd/Shake Ridge Rd. to connect to 88. This will be steep but have FAR less traffic than the standard Western Express.